SUMMARY
The non-state conflict between the Nduma Defense of Congo-Renové (NDC-R), under the leadership of Guidon Shimiray Mwisa, and the Patriotic Front for Peace–Army of the People (FPP-AP), also known as Mayi Mayi Kabidon, was rooted in territorial competition and the struggle for control over mineral-rich areas in North Kivu province, particularly in Walikale and Lubero territories. The conflict traces its origins to long-standing tensions between armed factions operating in the region. The NDC-R, a splinter group from the original Nduma Defense of Congo, sought to consolidate control over lucrative mining zones, while the FPP-AP, a local militia rooted in community self-defense structures, resisted this encroachment. The broader context includes the fragmentation of armed groups following military operations by the Congolese army, competition for natural resources, and localized cycles of violence that intensified after 2016.
Both groups framed their actions in terms of defense, either of local communities or strategic positions. The NDC-R was accused of portraying rival militias, including the FPP-AP, as threats to the stability and order it claimed to enforce in areas under its control.
The violence between the NDC-R and the FPP-AP was characterized by recurrent armed clashes, raids on camps, and ambushes. Fighting often resulted in deaths among combatants but also led to civilians killed in cross-fire, displacement, and the destruction of property. Tactics primarily involved small arms battles and village assaults. While both groups engaged in offensive operations, the NDC-R generally appeared better organized and inflicted heavier casualties on its opponents in several large-scale confrontations, particularly in 2022. Nonetheless, the FPP-AP also launched counterattacks that resulted in significant losses on the NDC-R side, in a pattern of escalation and retaliation.
The violence concentrated in Walikale and southern Lubero territories of North Kivu province, DR Congo (Zaire).
The conflict ended when a common enemy, M23, reappeared The two groups were among the factions that met in Pinga, a town in the Nord Kivu province in May 2022. There they signed an agreement not to fight one another and formed a coalition called Alliance des résistants de la patrie (ARP), later renamed VDP, to combat M23 alongside the [government of DR Congo].
The non-state conflict between the NDC-R and the FPP-AP is first included in UCDP data in 2021. In October of that year, violent clashes flared up in Walikale territory, with an attack by FPP-AP on NDC-R positions in Oninga village resulting in seven deaths, thereby surpassing the 25-fatalities threshold for inclusion.
